Turkish Estates: Unknown Meerschaum Lion and Prey (with Case) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Before briar was the most popular material to fashion into pipes, many pipes were made from meerschaum, with the oldest meerschaum pipes dating back to the early 18th century. German for "Sea Foam," meerschaum is a clay-like substance that is pliable when wet and exceedingly sturdy when dry, making it possible to shape meerschaum into a wide array of imaginative shapes. Furthermore, meerschaum is immune to "ghosting," which is when traces of a tobacco mixture's flavor is left over from a previous smoke. Therefore, meerschaum pipes are excellent for sampling a variety of blends. Additionally, when meerschaum pipes are originally carved they typically possess a pale-white hue, which slowly patinates into rich browns and blacks after extensive smoking. This figural from an unknown carver depicts a detailed sculpture of a Lion attacking its prey.